• Buttonwood Network is attempting to disrupt the way in which late stage start ups secure VC funding by making the process quicker and more efficient.
• The company was only founded six months ago but has already raised $45 million in funding for companies on its software platform. 
• VCs from across the world have taken an interest amid a changing environment for investors with lower fees and greater transparency now key for fundraisings. 

It's not easy raising money if you're a start-up. Founders must pitch their wares to investor after investor hoping to drum up enough interest in the business to win funding. 

Buttonwood Network is a six-month-old service based in New York that is trying to streamline the process. It operates a software platform for firms and venture capitalists to match, reducing the usually arduous process. 

The company says the idea is gaining traction. 

Founded by former investment bankers and hedge fund managers, Buttonwood is keen to cut down the amount of time high growth businesses spend fundraising and also widen the net of options available to companies. 

"It's clearly a distraction to spend a large amount of your time fundraising when you're trying to build a business," said Marcello Halitzer, co-founder of Buttonwood Network to Business Insider in an interview. "Usually companies pitch to investors one at a time before they do their own due diligence, this is the opposite now the investors are invited to opportunities at some incredible companies."

Halitzer compares the process to an investment-bank roadshow, where company executives travel around the country to give presentations to analysts, fund managers, and potential investors. Usually companies have to pitch their business to potential investors one by one, but Buttonwood attempting to reverse the concept of a roadshow by bringing investors directly to the company. 

Buttonwood is also selective about the companies it allows on its platform, maintaining an exclusive edge for investors invited to fundraisings. 

For example, companies are required to have 100% year-on-year growth, need at least $10 million in funding, and a history of raising $5 million previously.

One of Buttonwood's recent successes was VICIS, a football helmet manufacturer that is backed by former NFL legends such as quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The company raised $28.5 million in funding through Buttonwood in an oversubscribed deal that took just three months to complete. 

"The platform allowed us to share information about the company with scores of HNW [high net worth] individuals and families quickly and efficiently," Dave Marver, CEO of VICIS, said in an email.

Similarly, Modumetal, a start-up from Seattle, brought in $14 million through Buttonwood in funding led by Vulcan Capital. The company has attracted interest from oil and gas majors for its unique alloy which it says is more efficient and cheaper than conventional steel. 

It's part of a move away from more traditional attempts access VC funding for exciting companies with high growth prospects towards a more streamlined experience.

"We're trying to be friendly to investors through this platform and we want to empower entrepreneurs to make the funding process more efficient," said Halitzer in an interview with Business Insider. 

SEE ALSO: Meet the start-up bank with millions of customers trying to disrupt the 'adversarial' American banking system

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• Facebook deliberately flouted competition and privacy laws, behaving like "digital gangsters," according to a damning report by lawmakers.
• British politicians concluded an 18-month investigation into disinformation, and said democracy was "at risk" from foreign countries trying to influence UK elections through social media ads.
• Lawmakers called for an independent regulator to make sure tech firms like Facebook take down illegal content.
• They also accused Facebook of blocking their investigation.
• Facebook said it shares the concerns of the committee and is taking steps to improve its processes.

British lawmakers have accused Facebook of behaving like "digital gangsters", abusing its dominant power in social networks, and behaving "ahead of and beyond the law."

The comments come in a devastating report on fake news by British Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, made up of cross-party UK politicians and led by Conservative MP Damian Collins.

Facebook deliberately flouted privacy and competition laws and should be subject to new regulation, the committee wrote.

Lawmakers accused Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg of showing "contempt" for UK Parliament, and a larger gathering of international parliaments after he refused to give evidence three times.

The report is the culmination of a sprawling, 18-month parliamentary investigation into disinformation and fake news online, which heard from 73 witnesses and received 170 written submissions.

It examined Facebook's role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and its overall privacy practices. The report also touched on possible Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.

Collins said: "Democracy is at risk from the malicious and relentless targeting of citizens with disinformation and personalised 'dark adverts' from unidentifiable sources, delivered through the major social media platforms we use every day. Much of this is directed from agencies working in foreign countries, including Russia.

"The big tech companies are failing in the duty of care they owe to their users to act against harmful content, and to respect their data privacy rights."

The committee claimed that Facebook had deliberately "sought to frustrate" its work, putting up executives who were poorly briefed on areas such as election interference.

The report calls for major changes to the way the UK regulates its elections and technology, including:

• Stricter rules that will force tech firms to take down illegal content on their site
• A code of ethics that defines "harmful content"
• An independent regulator to oversee enforcement of that code
• New laws around political advertising online

The UK Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright will head to the US this week to meet with the heads of major tech firms, including Zuckerberg, to talk about harmful content online.

Facebook denied it had breached competition and privacy laws, and said it hadn't found evidence of foreign interference in the Brexit referendum. 

In a statement, Facebook's public policy manager Karim Palant said the company shares the concerns of the committee and said it is taking steps to improve its processes. He said:

"We share the Committee’s concerns about false news and election integrity and are pleased to have made a significant contribution to their investigation over the past 18 months, answering more than 700 questions and with four of our most senior executives giving evidence.

"We are open to meaningful regulation and support the committee's recommendation for electoral law reform. But we're not waiting. We have already made substantial changes so that every political ad on Facebook has to be authorised, state who is paying for it and then is stored in a searchable archive for 7 years. No other channel for political advertising is as transparent and offers the tools that we do.

"We also support effective privacy legislation that holds companies to high standards in their use of data and transparency for users.

"While we still have more to do, we are not the same company we were a year ago. We have tripled the size of the team working to detect and protect users from bad content to 30,000 people and invested heavily in machine learning, artificial intelligence and computer vision technology to help prevent this type of abuse."

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• One of Barclays' largest investors, US hedge fund Tiger Global, has sold its entire holding in the bank. 
• It is a major blow to the lender as it bids to turnaround its performance in its investment banking division. 
• Tiger Global had been a major backer of CEO Jes Staley, but the move points to a weaker sentiment in the lender. 

One of the largest shareholders in Barclays has cut its stake in the lender during a crucial period for the bank. 

Tiger Global, a hedge fund, had held a top 10 stake in Barclays but has since cut its entire holding, according to the Financial Times.

It's a major blow to Barclays CEO Jes Staley who had received backing for his plan to reinvigorate the lender's investment banking operations and focus on the UK retail sector from the fund. 

The multibillion dollar fund had been reducing its stake since last summer and has now entirely offloaded its shareholding during a tricky period for Barclays as it fights off a challenge from activist investor Edward Bramson.

Staley's plan for the lender was well received initially with Barclays' share price touching £2.17 ($2.80) last March but its share price stands at £1.59 as of 9.40 a.m in London — down 0.5%. 

Tiger spent more than $1 billion building up a roughly 2.5% stake in Barclays due to its sizeable presence on Wall Street. Part of the decision to build the stake was the belief that the bank would likely see a boost from rising US interest rates and the corporate tax cuts last year. 

Barclays recently transferred billions in assets to Dublin and has spent large sums preparing for Brexit. 

SEE ALSO: This US tech start-up helped a maker of football helmets tap investors with new VC funding platform

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This is a preview of The Reverse Logistics Report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report here.

With e-commerce becoming a lucrative shopping channel, retailers and their logistics partners have been primarily focused on how to quickly move goods through the supply chain and into the hands of consumers — a process commonly referred to as forward logistics. However, the opportunities presented by the growing popularity of e-commerce also come with a challenging, multibillion-dollar downside: returns.

Return rates for e-commerce purchases are between 25% and 30%, compared with just 9% for in-store purchases. Turning reverse logistics — the process of returning goods from end users back to their origins to either recapture value or properly dispose of material — into a costly and high-stakes matter for retailers.

Not only are retailers experiencing more returns as a result of e-commerce growth, but consumer expectations also demand that retailers provide a seamless process. In fact, 92% of consumers agree that they are more likely to shop at a store again if it offers a hassle-free return policy (e.g. free return shipping labels). Some consumers even place large orders with the intention of returning certain items. 

And e-commerce sales are only going up from here, exacerbating the issue and making retailers' need for help more dire. However, for logistics firms that can offer cost-effective reverse logistics solutions, this has opened up a significant opportunity to capture a share of rapidly growing e-commerce logistics costs in the US, which hit $117 billion last year, according to Armstrong & Associates, Inc. estimates. 

InThe Reverse Logistics Report, Business Insider Intelligence examines what makes reverse logistics so much more challenging than forward logistics, explores the trends that have driven retailers to finally improve the way in which returns move through their supply chains, and highlights how logistics firms can act to win over retailers' return dollars.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• E-commerce is now a core shopping channel for retailers, and it's still growing. US e-commerce sales are set to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $1 trillion in sales, according to Business Insider Intelligence estimates.
• Booming e-commerce sales have driven product returns through the roof. Business Insider Intelligence estimates that US e-commerce returns will increase at a CAGR of 19% between 2018 and 2023, surpassing $300 million dollars. 
• Consumers have high expectations about how returns are handled, and retailers are struggling to find cost-effective ways to meet their demands. Sixty-four percent of shoppers stated they would be hesitant to shop at a retailer ever again if they found issues with the returns process. And retailers don't have the expertise to effectively keep up with how demanding consumers are about returns — 44% of retailers said their margins were negatively impacted by handling and packaging returns, for example.
• Logistics firms are well positioned to solve — and profit from — returns. These companies can take advantage of their scale and expertise to solve pain points retailers commonly experience as goods move through the reverse supply chain. 
• Reverse logistics solutions themselves present a lucrative opportunity — but they're also appealing in the potential inroads they offer to supply chain management. The global third-party logistics market is estimated to be valued at $865 billion in 2018, according to Bekryl. 

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• Asian markets rocket higher Monday on trade war optimism.
• Chinese markets have ripped higher, with the biggest gains coming from the Shenzhen Component index, which gained just shy of 4% during Monday trading.
• Trade discussions between the US and China ended over the weekend, with both nations seemingly positive about progress made during the talks.
• "Trade negotiators have just returned from China where the meetings on Trade were very productive," President Trump tweeted on Saturday night.
• US markets are closed Monday in observance of President's Day.
• You can follow the latest market action at Markets Insider.

Asian markets surged to start the week Monday as investors took heart from positive comments surrounding ongoing trade negotiations between the US and China.

The two nations are in the midst of discussions over their future trading relationship following the tit-for-tat exchange of tariffs during 2018. 

Representatives from the Trump and Xi administrations began talks in Beijing last Monday, with the aim of making progress towards a trade deal of some form before the 90 day deadline imposed at the G20 in Argentina late in 2018.

Talks ended over the weekend, with President Trump seemingly enthused by the progress made during the discussions.

"Trade negotiators have just returned from China where the meetings on Trade were very productive," he tweeted on Saturday night.

"Now at meetings with me at Mar-a-Lago giving the details. In the meantime, Billions of Dollars are being paid to the United States by China in the form of Trade Tariffs!"

Trump's words, alongside a positive reaction to the talks from Chinese officials has helped to push Chinese stocks to their best individual session in around three months, with all mainland indexes rising 2% or more on the day.

Read more:This is the only chart to watch ahead of the world's impending economic slowdown

"In the absence of data, politics (trade) is likely to dominate markets. The US and China resume trade talks in Washington this week. Asian markets have strengthened on hopes and dreams of a trade deal," Paul Donovan, chief global economist at UBS Wealth Management said in a morning email.

"US President Trump reiterated that the 1 March tax-hike deadline could be extended. Chinese officials sounded positive (more positive than US officials) about a deal.|

Here's the scoreboard as of 10.05 a.m. GMT (5.05 a.m. ET):

• Chinese markets have ripped higher, with the biggest gains coming from the Shenzhen Component index, which gained just shy of 4% during Monday trade. Elsewhere, the Shanghai Composite was 2.7% up, the China A50 was 2.6% higher, and the Dow Jones Shanghai gained 2.9%.
• In Europe, stocks were little moved, but most indexes nursed small losses. The Euro Stoxx 50 broad index was down 0.2%, while Germany's DAX lost 0.5%. Stocks in Spain and Italy bucked the broader trend on the continent, and saw gains of around 0.4%.
• US stocks will be closed Monday in observance of President's Day.

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• Seven Labour MPs announced their resignations from the party on Monday morning after months of tension and disagreement over the leadership's handling of Brexit and antisemitism.
• The seven are: Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker, and Anne Coffey. They will operate under the name the Independent Group.
• The group will sit as independent MPs in the House of Commons.
• "British politics is now well and truly broken," Chris Leslie, one MP said at the press conference. "The evidence of Labour's betrayal [on Brexit] is now clear for all to see."
• The group then called for cross-ideology action against Brexit, inviting MPs from all political parties to join their group.

LONDON — Seven MPs announced their departure from Labour on Monday morning after months of tension and disagreement over the leadership's handling of Brexit and antisemitism within the party.

The seven — Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker, and Anne Coffey — told a press conference in central London that they were quitting Labour to become independent MPs, operating under the name the "Independent Group."

"British politics is now well and truly broken," Chris Leslie, one of the seven, said at the press conference. "The evidence of Labour's betrayal [on Brexit] is now clear for all to see."

"We have no choice but to say collectively, enough is enough," the former shadow minister added, saying that the group believes Labour under Jeremy Corbyn is focused on a "narrow and outdated ideology."

In a statement released soon after the announcement was made, the Independent Group said:

"Our primary duty as Members of Parliament is to put the best interests of our constituents and our country first. Yet like so many others, we believe that none of today’s political parties are fit to provide the leadership and direction needed by our country.

"Our aim is to pursue policies that are evidence-based, not led by ideology, taking a long-term perspective to the challenges of the 21st century in the national interest, rather than locked in the old politics of the 20th century in the party’s interests."

Responding to the split, Labour leader Corbyn said he was "disappointed that these MPs have felt unable to continue to work together for the Labour policies that inspired millions at the last election."

Labour splits after months of tension and speculation

There was talk of a potential Labour split months prior to Monday morning. The party's most staunch pro-EU MPs have been unhappy with Corbyn's approach to Brexit and his refusal to support a new referendum.

"I am furious that the Labour leadership is complicit in facilitating Brexit," Mike Gapes, the MP for Ilford South said on Monday.

There is also frustration among MPs about the leadership's handling of the antisemitism crisis which has engulfed Labour over the last few years. A new report by the anti-racism group Hope Note Hate concluded that the Labour Party is not doing enough to tackle anti-Semitism in its ranks.

Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger, who is Jewish and has been at the heart of the party's anti-semitism row, said she is leaving behind a party that endorses "bigotry" and "bullying."

"I am sickened that the Labour Party is now a racist and antisemitic party," his colleague Gapes said.

Anne Coffey, who represents Stockport, added: "Antisemitism is rife and tolerated. The current leadership has been very successful in changing this party beyond recognition.

"It is no longer a broad church. Any criticism of the leadership is responded to with abuse and accusations of treachery."

The Independent Group invited people from across the political spectrum to join them, with Umunna, one of the most fervent backers of People's Vote, making a clear appeal to rebels within the Conservative Party.

"We invite you to leave your parties and help us forge a new consensus for the way forward for Britain."

Umunna said that the group has not yet formalised official roles, including who will be leader.

The group also ruled out fighting by-elections in their constituencies in the near future. By-elections are "absolutely not what is needed right now," Chris Leslie said.

A split was "inevitable"

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock on Sunday night said that a party split was inevitable.

"The talk has been going on so long that I say with great regret that yes, there probably will be some kind of splintering," he told the BBC's Westminster Hour.

"It just seems to have been in the rumour mill so long that it’s unlikely that wouldn’t be the outcome."

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell warned on Sunday that a Labour split would only benefit the Conservatives and lead to a decade of Tory rule.

"It would be like the 1980s. In my constituency in Hayes and Harlington we had a Labour MP join the SDP and we lost the seat to the Conservatives. And it basically installed Mrs Thatcher in power for that decade," he said.

"I don’t think any of the people who have even been mentioned around this split would want that."

McDonnell also re-assured the anti-Brexit MPs who are considering quitting the party that Labour could still yet support a new referendum, or what campaigners call a "People's Vote," despite Corbyn's reservations.

"On all the issues people have raised as a reason for a split, we’re dealing with [them]. For example on Brexit we’re holding the party together. Those saying we’ll split over a people’s vote, well, we’ve still kept that option on the table and it might come about. Why split over that? It’s ridiculous," McDonnell said.

Labour MP Gloria De Piero on Friday pleaded with her colleagues not to quit the party. 

"Please don't go,"she said an interview with the BBC, before adding that a split only "benefits the Tories."

SEE ALSO: Theresa May's government is using 'blanket secrecy' to hide its no-deal Brexit plans

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• A new study suggests love helps boost immunity. 
• Researchers took blood samples from women in new relationships over 24 months.
• Those who fell in love showed an increase in activity of certain genes involved in antiviral defenses.
• In other words, love could help us fight off viruses like colds and the flu.
• In future research, the team want to look at the health implications of long term love, not just those in the honeymoon period.

Valentine's Day is over, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on love. There are numerous benefits to showing affection, and according to a new study, those include warding off colds.

The new research, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, found that falling in love is associated with an increased activity of certain genes, particularly ones involved in antiviral defenses. In other words, love could help us fight off viruses like colds and the flu.

The small study involved just 47 women who were given weekly questionnaires and had their blood taken over 24 months, depending on their relationship timeline. To be eligible for the study, women had to be in a new relationship, which was defined as seeing someone for less than a month.

While women who fell in love over the course of the study had increased activity of the immunity genes, this wasn't observed in women who did not fall in love.

Read more: 7 science-backed reasons why you're better off being single

"This could reflect a kind of a proactive response to anticipating future intimate contact, given that most viruses are spread via close physical contact,"said Damian Murray, lead author of the study and assistant professor at Tulane's School of Science and Engineering.

"However, this increased activity of antiviral genes is also consistent with the biological preparation of the body for pregnancy. From this women-only sample, both of these interpretations remain possible."

Loneliness can have a negative impact on both mental and physical health. For instance, it can lead to more inflammation, an increased risk of heart disease, and depression.

"Chronic inflammation is bad for health, and loneliness is one of the biggest predictors of mortality," Murray said.

"Martie [Haselton, coauthor of the study] and I wondered if there could be a flipside to this 'lonely' epigenetics profile and we arrived at love ... We wanted to investigate whether new romantic love in new romantic relationships was associated with favorable health and a favorable immune-related epigenetic profile."

Read more: It's a myth that vitamin C will help cure your cold — here's what you should do instead

Murray concluded that love probably isn't the antithesis of loneliness, as there were no significant changes in self-reported loneliness or depressive symptoms when women fell in love compared to when they started the study.

He said the aim for future research is to look at the long term health implications of love — studying not just those in the honeymoon period, but couples who have been happy together for a long time. The team also want to look into the effects on both men and women, to be able to "map the physiological changes that accompany the initiation and progression of human romantic relationships."

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• Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo stole the show even though their team lost Sunday's NBA All-Star exhibition.
• Curry and Antetokounmpo combined for an incredible bounce pass and a thunderous dunk.
• The move has become a viral hit on Twitter.
• Watch the move right here.

Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined for an incredible bounce pass and alley-oop combo, which stole the show at the NBA All-Star game on Sunday.

Team Giannis may have been the losing side of the All-Star match, an exhibition that brings together the biggest and the best in basketball, but Curry and Antetokounmpo wowed the crowd at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The move began midway through the second quarter, when Team Giannis had a seemingly insurmountable lead at 71-57.

Curry received the ball on the side of the three-point line and slammed a thunderous pass off of the paint. The ball bounced over the head of Team LeBron player Kevin Durant and into the reaches of Antetokounmpo who did not hesitate to dunk the ball through the basket to complete a highlight-reel move that has become a viral hit on Twitter.

Watch it right here:

Curry finished the night with 17 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, while Antetokounmpo ended the game with 38 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.

Team Giannis went on to lose the exhibition 164-178.

SEE ALSO: Why LeBron James is greater than Steph Curry, according to a 3-time NBA champion

DON'T MISS: I'm a Brit who just went to his first NBA game, and it was more of a spectacle than I could have ever imagined

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

US consumers have been “cord-cutting” — or canceling their pay-TV subscriptions in favor of internet-delivered alternatives — since 2010.

The number of pay-TV subscribers dropped a record 3.4% year-over-year (YoY) in 2017, and the rate of decline is expected to accelerate further in the coming years. As a result, traditional media companies will continue to see their most important revenue stream erode. To compete in the shifting media landscape, traditional media companies' business strategies must satisfy two goals: extract as much revenue from pay-TV as possible before the opportunity to do so fizzles out, and taper reliance on pay-TV-related revenue along the way.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence will look at how big media companies are refining their strategies to meet the aforementioned goals and mitigate the impacts of cord-cutting that are detrimental to their business. We also discuss current consumer behavior trends that are simultaneously driving the growth of streaming platforms (like Netflix) and decline of linear TV, as well as actionable insights on how companies can respond.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• As consumers flee linear TV, they're spending more time on digital video services with ad-free and ad-lite viewing experiences. 
• Media companies are responding by becoming less reliant on pay-TV revenue by launching their own streaming services. 
• Traditional networks are also increasingly seeking M&A opportunities to gain the resources, talent, and technologies necessary to compete with streaming giants.
• More media companies are beginning to experiment with airing fewer commercials per hour to enhance the linear TV viewership experience. 

 In full, the report:

• Explains the decline in US pay-TV subscribers in recent years, and how significantly this decline has diminished the viewership and ad revenue of top TV networks. 
• Outlines the top factors that consumers look for when deciding to subscribe to a streaming service. 
• Details the top recent M&A deals between media companies, and describes how they've positioned those involved to better compete against streaming giants like Netflix.
• Provides direction on how to best approach cutting ad loads on linear TV, and explains why experimenting with airing fewer commercials could be beneficial for viewership.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

1. Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >>Purchase & Download Now
2. Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you've given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of cord-cutting.

Join the conversation about this story »

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Trucking is set to transform radically in the coming years, with innovative technologies enabling trucks to take over more and more driving responsibilities, saving time and money for operators and businesses that rely on shipping.

Autonomous trucks are being tested on roads around the world, and systems from startups like Peloton and Embark could make their way into commercial trucks as soon as next year. Fleets will be able to leverage autonomous technologies to cut costs and gain a critical edge over competitors.

But to start planning for, and to eventually implement, those technologies, companies need to know what sorts of systems will be ready and when, and what regulatory hurdles will need to be overcome to get autonomous trucks on the road. 

In The Autonomous Trucking Report, Business Insider Intelligence provides an early glimpse into the emerging autonomous trucking market. First, we look at the trucking market as it stands today, offering a basic profile of the industry and highlighting a number of the challenges and issues it faces. Then, we go through the three waves of autonomous technology that are set to upend the industry — platooning, semi-autonomous systems, and fully autonomous trucks — looking at who is making strides in each of these areas, when the technology can be expected to start making an impact, and what companies can do to get ahead of the curve.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Advanced and autonomous technology will enable operators and shipping firms to eradicate some of the challenges that have long plagued them. Trucks will take over more and more driving responsibilities, saving time and money for operators and businesses that rely on shipping.
• The impact of autonomous technologies on the trucking industry will come in three major waves: platooning or fuel-saving vehicle convoys, semi-autonomous highway control systems, and fully autonomous trucks.
• Change to the trucking industry will be gradual but inexorable. Companies with foresight can start to make long-term plans to account for the ways that autonomous technologies will change how goods and products move from place to place.

In full, the report:

• Analyzes the development of autonomous trucking technology.
• Explains the waves in which advanced and autonomous technologies will start to impact the trucking industry, providing detailed explanations of how a company can take advantage of the disruptive technology transforming logistics at each stage.
• Profiles the efforts of the companies that are at the forefront of new technology in trucking, looking at what they're working on and when their efforts could start to impact the market.

To get this report, subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to:

	This report and more than 275 other expertly researched reports
	Access to all future reports and daily newsletters
	Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry
	And more!

Learn More

Or, purchase & download The Autonomous Trucking Report directly from our research store

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• The above image shows Apple's current iPhone lineup, which includes the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.
• Apple quietly discontinued a few older iPhones to make room for the new models, including most notably the iPhone SE.
• The iPhone SE was Apple's last 4-inch iPhone, and the only phone made at an incredibly accessible price point of just $350.

SEE ALSO: 9 reasons you should buy an iPhone XR instead of an iPhone XS

At the same September event where it unveiled three new iPhones, Apple quietly killed off one of the best smartphones it's ever made: the iPhone SE.

At $350, the iPhone SE was one of the best "budget" smartphones you could buy.

It didn't have a big, flashy high-definition screen like so many modern smartphones, but it had great performance in an adorable package.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider may receive a commission from The Points Guy Affiliate Network.

• Marriott's new reward program, Marriott Bonvoy, is live on February 13, 2019.
• The new Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express Card is offering a limited-time 100,000-point welcome bonus.
• While the card has a $450 annual fee, it also includes airport lounge access through Priority Pass Select.

Marriott closed on its purchase of Starwood in September 2016, creating by far the largest hotel chain in the world. Starting today, the new joint rewards program covering the entire family of Marriott brands goes live.

To celebrate, you can earn 100,000 Mariott Bonvoy bonus points with the new elite-tier Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card, which also includes airport lounge access. If you can handle the hefty $450 annual fee, you'll get a ton of value in return.

What is Marriott Bonvoy?

Marriott Bonvoy is the new name of the Marriott rewards program. It came about through the merger of the Marriott Rewards points, Starwood Startpoints, and Ritz-Carlton points into one, unified program.

With the new launch, the old Marriott, Starwood, and Ritz-Carlton cards are getting a facelift as well. That includes the ultra-premium Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card that is now known as the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card.

You'll be able to redeem points for free stays, upgrades, and uses at the entire portfolio of Marriott properties. That includes 30 Marriott brands, 6,700 properties, and 1.1 million hotel rooms to choose from in 129 countries.

How does theBonvoy Brilliant AmEx earn rewards?

TheBonvoy Brilliant AmEx earns 6 points per dollar at Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3 points at US restaurants and flights booked directly with airlines, and 2 points everywhere else.

For new cardholders, you can earn a giant 100,000-point bonus after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months after opening a new account. That is enough for a free night at any top-tier property or a handful of nights in some cases at lower category properties.

The 100,000-point bonus is only available until April 24, 2019. After that, the bonus may go down significantly. We recommend you act quickly if you want to capture this somewhat rare opportunity to bring home a six-figure welcome bonus.

The card also includes a certificate worth one night at any hotel up to the 50,000-point level each year. Different-tiered Marriott cards offer free nights with a lower certificate value.

Perks and benefits of the Bonvoy Brilliant AmEx

The awards rate on this card alone may not justify a $450 annual fee. To understand where you get even more, you have to look at the card's benefits, which include airport lounge access.

For airports, you'll get a complimentary membership to Priority Pass Select. This program operates over 1,200 airport lounges at popular airports around the world. The comparable level membership directly through Priority Pass costs $429 per year, and you get it at no extra charge with this card.

The card is packed with additional travel and purchase benefits, as you would expect with a high-tier card.

Is the new Bonvoy Brilliant AmEx right for you?

This card is targeted at the high-end, luxury seeking traveler. If that sounds like you, this card delivers a quality experience at the airport and at your hotel. That's a winning package for loyal Marriott fans who enjoy staying at any of the 30 brands this card covers.

A card with a $450 annual fee isn't for everyone, so consider other new Marriott Bonvoy cards if you want to earn free nights for Marriott brand hotels if the fee seems like too much for you. Marriott Bonvoy cards are available through American Express and Chase.

If you already have a card that offers Priority Pass Select membership, for example the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Platinum Card from American Express, this card may be excessive for your needs. But when you consider the potential value of the 100,000-point welcome bonus, it may still be worth it. It depends on your spending and hotel habits.

Learn more about the new Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card from Insider Picks' partner, The Points Guy.

SEE ALSO: Big changes are coming to the Marriott and Starwood rewards programs and their credit cards — here's what you need to know

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Esports, which is short for electronic sports, refers to competitive video gaming watched by spectators. Esports are not as mainstream as traditional sports in the US, but the number of esports fans globally is still sizable. The worldwide esports audience reached 335 million in 2017, according to Newzoo. 

And there’s still significant room for growth beyond that — we predict that 600 million consumers globally will watch esports in 2023, up 79% from 2017. 

A growing number of brands are acting to capitalize on the growth of esports as the majority of professional gaming fans are millennials and open to brand sponsors. Sixty-two percent of US esports viewers are aged 18-34, according to Activate, while 58% have a positive attitude towards brand involvement in esports, per Nielsen.

Meanwhile, Newzoo anticipates global esports sponsorship revenue to reach $359 million in 2018, up 53% year-over-year. The growing esports audience and brand activity helps explains why high-profile public figures are jumping in to capitalize on the action: In late October, basketball legend Michael Jordan and platinum-selling artist Drake both made investments into separate esports ventures, for example. 

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence will explain the growth of the esports audience and why it presents an attractive advertising opportunity for brands. We'll begin by exploring the key drivers and barriers affecting esports audience growth. Finally, we'll detail the benefits of advertising to esports fans and outline the best practices for implementing a successful esports ad campaign.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Arby's, Audi, Bud Light, Hyundai, Intel, Mastercard, McDonald's, Red Bull, Skillz, and Turner.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• The number of esports fans globally is anticipated to climb 59% over the next five years, but there’s still significant room for growth.
• This expansion will be driven by many factors, including investment from traditional sports leagues, a higher number of broadcast deals, and the expansion of the mobile-based esports scene.
• The majority of esports fans are millennials, while data suggests that Gen Zers are more receptive to nontraditional sports, like esports, than traditional sports.
• Brands can sponsor esports leagues, competitions, and players as well as advertise on digital platforms like Twitch to reach the eyeballs of esports fans.
• Whatever shape a brand's esports ad campaign eventually takes, displaying an authentic commitment to the gaming world is paramount.

 In full, the report:

• Outlines the drivers and potential barriers to esports audience growth.
• Details the various reasons esports fans are a compelling advertising opportunity for brands.
• Discusses the different ways brands can invest spend to reach the eyeballs of esports fans.
• Explains best practices brands advertising to esports fans should adopt in order to make inroads with the gaming community. 

SEE ALSO: The eSports competitive video gaming market continues to grow revenues & attract investors

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• It's 2019. If you're not very familiar with technology, where do you start?
• There are tons of gadgets and services out there vying for your attention and your dollars, but only a handful of them could be called "essential"— technologies that make your life easier in significant ways.
• Here's your guide to all the essential technologies worth your money in 2019.

SEE ALSO: We just got our first real look at 'Cyberpunk 2077' — here are 31 things we learned about the futuristic video game people can't stop buzzing about

A reliable smartphone

A quality smartphone is one of the best investments you can make.

Smartphones are the most versatile computing devices we own. They're phones, obviously, but they're also cameras, calculators, and full-blown computers that can fit in your pocket or bag.

The biggest choice you'll make is actually pretty simple: Which operating system do you prefer?

Most smartphones either run iOS — which is operated by Apple — or Android, which is designed by Google and tweaked (slightly or a lot) depending on the phone you buy. 

If you like iOS, that means you're getting an iPhone.

You can't go wrong with any of the new iPhones from 2018, including the $750 iPhone XR or the $1,000 iPhone XS, but older models like the iPhone 7, which starts at $450, are still the best deal you can get with Apple.

This is a preview of a research report from Business insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. 

Telehealth — the use of mobile technology to deliver health-related services, such as remote doctor consultations and patient monitoring — is enabling healthcare providers and payers to address the US healthcare industry’s growing list of problems.

The proliferation and rapid advancement of mobile technology are spurring telehealth adoption, and many believe that 2018 could be the tipping point for the telehealth market.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence defines the opaque US telehealth market, forecasts the market growth potential and value, outlines the key drivers behind usage and adoption, and evaluates the opportunity telehealth solutions will afford all stakeholders. We also identify key barriers to continued telehealth adoption, and discuss how providers, payers, and telehealth companies are working to overcome these hurdles.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Telehealth is enabling healthcare providers and payers to address the US healthcare industry’s growing list of problems, including rising healthcare costs, an aging population, and the transformation of healthcare from service-centric to consumer-centric, which is straining healthcare system resources and threatening to drive up payer costs.
• Although telehealth solutions aren't suitable for all patients, right now, about 45% of the US population, or 147 million consumers, falls within the addressable market.
• Despite low usage rates, most consumers are open to using telehealth solutions, according to the 2018 Business Insider Intelligence Insurance Technology Study. 
• A range of companies are well-positioned to generate savings in terms of revenue and avoid potential pitfalls by deploying telehealth solutions.

 In full, the report:

• Offers an overview of different types of telehealth services and their applications in the US healthcare ecosystem. 
• Highlights the growth drivers and opportunities of these applications.
• Includes exclusive data and insights from the 2018 Business Insider Intelligence Insurance Technology Study. 
• Provides examples of key players in the telehealth market, including insurers, medical device makers, and health networks. 
• Gives recommendations on how health networks and payers should approach using and deploying telehealth solutions.

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

Outside of the US Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and UPS have dominated the domestic logistics industry — and in particular, the last-mile of the delivery — for decades. On a quarterly earnings call in 2016, FedEx estimated that itself, UPS, and USPS executed a whopping 95% of all e-commerce orders.

But rapidly rising volumes have put the pair of legacy shippers in a bind. E-commerce sales have risen over 50% and are projected to continue their ascent into the next decade. High volumes are already straining shippers' networks — UPS struggled to bring consumers their parcels on time due to higher-than-anticipated package volume, which upset some big-name retail partners, including Macy's, Walmart, and Amazon. As online sales surge further, package volumes will outstrip legacy shippers' capacities, creating space for new entrants. 

Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to dethrone UPS and FedEx's duopoly. It's built up a strong logistics infrastructure, counting hundreds of warehouses and thousands of delivery trucks.

Further, as the leading online retailer in the US, it has a wealth of data on consumers that it can use to craft a personalized delivery experience that's superior to UPS and FedEx's offerings. Amazon must act soon, however, as UPS and FedEx are hard at work fortifying their own networks to handle the expected surge in parcel volume.

The longer the Seattle-based e-tailer delays the launch of a delivery service, the more it runs the risk that these legacy players will be able to defend their territory. 

In a new report, Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, explains how the age of e-commerce is opening up cracks in UPS and FedEx's duopoly. We then outline how Amazon's logistics ambitions began as an effort to more quickly get parcels out the door and fulfill its famous 2-day shipping process and how it'll be a key building block for the company if it builds out a last-mile service. Lastly, we offer concrete steps that the firm must take to maximize the dent it makes in UPS and FedEx's duopoly.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Alibaba, Amazon, FedEx, and UPS.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• While UPS and FedEx have dominated the US last-mile delivery market for the last few decades, the surge in e-commerce is creating more volume than shipping companies can handle.
• Amazon is uniquely well-positioned to put a dent in UPS and FedEx's duopoly due to its strategic position as the leading online retailer in the US.
• Amazon can carry its trust amongst the public, a wealth of consumer data, and its ability to craft a more personalized delivery experience to the last-mile delivery space to ultimately dethrone UPS and FedEx.
• The top priority for Amazon in taking on UPS and FedEx needs to be offering substantially lower shipping rates — one-third of US retailers say they'll switch to an Amazon shipping service if it's at least 20% cheaper than UPS and FedEx. 

In full, the report:

• Outlines Amazon's current shipping and logistics footprint and strengths that it would bring to the last-mile delivery space in the US.
• Lays out concrete steps that Amazon must take if it wants to launch a standalone last-mile delivery service, including how it can offer a more memorable, higher-quality delivery experience than UPS and FedEx.
• Illustrates how Amazon can minimize operating costs for a delivery service to ultimately undercut UPS and FedEx's shipping rates in the last-mile space.

SEE ALSO: Amazon and Walmart are building out delivery capabilities

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• President Donald Trump spoke in front of a Venezuelan American community on Monday at Florida Ocean Bank Convocation Center at Florida International University in Miami.
• He urged Venezuelan military officials to back the country's self-declared interim president, Juan Guaidó. 
• He said that officials backing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are risking their lives. 
• He also said socialism is ravaged Venezuela, and told the crowd that that "will never happen to" the United States.

President Donald Trump urged Venezuelan military officials to support the its self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó during a speech on Monday, in which he also said socialism had ravaged the country.

Trump spoke in front of a Venezuelan American community on Monday at Florida Ocean Bank Convocation Center at Florida International University in Miami.

The majority of his speech highlighted the political crisis in Venezuela and criticized socialism.

Speaking to a crowd of mostly Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants, Trump warned that military members who are helping Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro could be risking their lives.

"You will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out. You will lose everything," he said. 

Trump said there are "truckloads" of humanitarian aid at the Venezuelan border"waiting to help millions and millions in need."

On Saturday the US sent a military aircraft filled with aid for Venezuelan citizens to Colombia, but Maduro would not allow the contents into the country.

"Two days ago the first us air force C-17 landed in Colombia loaded with crucial assistance, including thousands of nutrition kits for little Venezuelan children," Trump said. "Unfortunately dictator Maduro has blocked this life-saving aid from entering the country. He would rather see his people starve than give them aid."

Read more:The US sent a military plane full of soap, toothbrushes, and nutritional products to Colombia to help Venezuelan citizens — but Venezuela's president won't accept it

Maduro, who is facing criticism over his management of Venezuela's economy, has said that accepting aid from the US could lead to a US military invasion and has blocked all foreign aid from entering the country.

Critics say Maduro’s re-election last year was fraudulent, and a power struggle in the country led to a violent shutdown Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

Trump accused Maduro and a "small handful at the top of the Maduro regime" of failing the Venezuelan people. 

"We know who they are and we know where they keep the billions of dollars they have stolen," Trump said.

He said he would like a "peaceful transition of power," to Guaidó, "but all options are open."

Trump also welcomed to the stage the mother of Oscar Perez, a Venezuelan police officer who was killed in a gun battle with authorities months after flying a helicopter over the country's capital and launching grenades at the Supreme Court building, the Associated Press reported.

Trump said in his speech that a "new day is coming in Latin America" and that what happened there "will never happen to us."

"Socialism is dying and liberty, prosperity and democracy are being reborn" he said, adding that he hopes soon that "This will become the first free hemisphere in all of human history."

Trump has previously used the economic situation in Venezuela as a way to warn voters that Democratic politics will turn the US into Venezuela.

• Read more:
• Rep. Ilhan Omar had a heated exchange with Trump's Venezuela envoy over his role in the US's violent history in Central America
• Venezuela's Maduro says he has held secret meetings with US officials even after Trump publicly backed his opponent
• Russia says Venezuela hasn't asked for any military assistance amid its deepening crisis
• Amid economic meltdown, semi-secret operations in Venezuela turn its useless bank notes into gold

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NOW WATCH: Meet the three women who married Donald Trump

Many companies use the term artificial intelligence, or AI, as a way to generate excitement for their products and to present themselves as on the cutting edge of tech development.

But what exactly is artificial intelligence? What does it involve? And how will it help the development of future generations?

Find out the answers to these questions and more in AI 101, a brand new FREE report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, that describes how AI works and looks at its present and potential future applications.

To get your copy of the FREE slide deck, simply click here.

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• Life insurance is fundamentally hard to sell; it’s morbid to think about, promises no immediate rewards, and often requires a lengthy paper application with minimal guidance.
• Despite the popularity of personalized products in other areas of finance and fintech, life insurance largely remains unchanged.
• A small, but growing pocket of insurtech startups are shaking up the status quo by finding ways to digitize life insurance and increase its appeal.

Life insurance is a fundamentally difficult product to sell; it requires people to think about their deaths without promising any immediate returns.

And, despite tech innovations and the development of personalized services in other areas of finance, life insurance remains largely unchanged.

Luckily, there is a small but growing pocket of insurtech startups looking to modernize it. These companies are finding ways to digitize life insurance to  appeal to consumers — and they’re giving incumbents the opportunity to revamp traditional offerings, either by partnering with them or using their technology.

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has forecasted the shifting landscape of life insurance in the The Future of Life Insurance report. Here are the key problems insurtechs are tackling:

• Lack of education: Forty percent of US consumers told the Life Insurance and Market Research Association (LIMRA) that they feel intimidated by the life insurance application process, often drastically overestimating its cost and facing uncertainty about how much or which type of coverage to buy.
• Inconvenient application process: It can take weeks or months for coverage to take effect because of the sheer number of meetings and parties combing through paperwork in each round of the application process. The risk for the insurer often warrants reviews from the carrier, a team of underwriters, a broker, and even a medical examiner.
• Low customer loyalty: Life insurance tends to be a “set it and forget it” type of purchase, with very few people revisiting it after buying. Insurers and consumers therefore have limited contact for most of the relationship — with the exception of an annual bill, of course.
• Inefficient data management and processing: The aggregate data life insurers rely on is typically fed into algorithms that make broad assumptions about particular populations, and often incorporate outdated medical documentation — all of which can delay applications and result in unnecessary rejections.

Want to learn more?

The need for modernization in life insurance is clear: Overall sales are slowing and policy ownership is hitting record lows. And because it’s such a tightly-regulated space, innovation from incumbents has stagnated — but they’re not helpless. Consumer-focused and insurer-focused startups have emerged to offer new technologies and process improvements.

The Future of Life Insurance report from Business Insider Intelligence looks at the two main strategies life insurtechs are adopting to drive change in this market, for the benefit of both buyers and sellers. In full, the report discusses best practices incumbents and startups should adopt to steer clear of the risks attached to applying emerging technologies to such a tightly regulated product.

Insurtech startups will soon set new industry standards and consumer expectations around this complex product. That, in turn will serve as a catalyst for innovation among legacy players.

Companies included in this report: Ladder, Haven Life, Getsurance, Tomorrow, Fabric, Atidot, AllLife, Royal London, Polly, Life.io, Legal & General, Vitality, Discovery, John Hancock, Dai-ichi Life.

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Regtech solutions seemed to offer the solution to financial institutions' (FIs) compliance woes when they first came to prominence around 24 months ago, gaining support from regulators and investors alike. 

However, many of the companies offering these solutions haven't scaled as might have been expected from the initial hype, and have failed to follow the trajectory of firms in other segments of fintech.

This unexpected inertia in the regtech industry is likely to resolve over the next 12-18 months as other factors come into play that shift FIs' approach to regtech solutions, and as the companies offering them evolve. External factors driving this change include regulatory support of regtech solutions, and consultancies offering more help to FIs wanting to sift through solutions. Startups offering regtech solutions will also play a part by partnering with each other, forming industry organizations, and taking advantage of new opportunities.

This report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, provides a brief overview of the current global financial regulatory compliance landscape, and the regtech industry's position within it. It then details the major drivers that will shift the dial on FIs' adoption of regtech over the next 12-18 months, as well as those that will propel startups offering regtech solutions to new heights. Finally, it outlines what impact these drivers will have, and gives insight into what the global regtech industry will look like by 2020.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Regulatory compliance is still a significant issue faced by global FIs. In 2018 alone, EU regulations MiFID II and PSD2 have come into effect, bringing with them huge handbooks and gigantic reporting requirements. 
• Regtech startups boast solutions that can ease FIs' compliance burden — but they are struggling to scale. 
• Some changes expected to drive greater adoption of these solutions in the next 12 to 18 months are: the ongoing evolution of startups' business models, increasing numbers of partnerships, regulators' promotion of regtech, changing attitudes to the segment among FIs, and consultancies helping to facilitate adoption.
• FIs will actively be using solutions from regtech startups by 2020, and startups will be collaborating in an organized fashion with each other and with FIs. Global regulators will have adopted regtech themselves, while continuing to act as advocates for the industry.

In full, the report:

• Reviews the major changes expected to hit the regtech segment in the next 12 to 18 months.
• Examines the drivers behind these changes, and how the proliferation of regtech will improve compliance for FIs.
• Provides our view on what the future of the regtech industry looks like through 2020.
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